Thunderstorm Wind — Kandiyohi, Minnesota

2024-08-03 · near Atwater, Kandiyohi, Minnesota

Event narrative

Dozens of trees were uprooted or broken across Atwater. A damage survey determined the damage was due to a downburst, with a wide area of damaged trees scattered across the west and south sides of town. A few trees blocked roads or landed on houses, garages, and vehicles. Most trees were blown from the northeast to the southwest.

Wider weather episode

A pronounced cold front sagged south of Canada, colliding with a warm and humid air mass across central Minnesota. Surface temperatures reached the upper 80s/lower 90s with dew points in the low to mid 70s. This created an unstable environment conducive for storms supporting large hail, strong winds, and a few tornadoes.

A pair of strong supercells formed along the front over central Minnesota during the late afternoon and travelled south-southeast through the evening. Initial storms produced very large hail up to 3 inches in diameter, with sporadic reports of wind damage. An EF-1 tornado impacted Melrose, MN as the supercells travelled through Stearns County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (45.1402, -94.7871)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1211016. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.